With Pam Rhodes, producer Garry Boon and the crew on the Ironworks site

A thoroughly enjoyable experience yesterday, filming with the Songs of Praise team for their feature on Norman which is scheduled for Sunday May 14th. Garry Boon, the producer, and the rest of the team were delighted by the way things worked out and very appreciative of the contributions made our committee members.

The main interview took place on the Ironworks site where Pam Rhodes asked me about a wide range of topics from the way the location has changed over the decades to NN's faith to aspects of his poetry.

Next stop was the church where our committee members Peggy Troll, Dot Richardson and Society member Barbara Andrews conjured up hot drinks to complement a cake brought by Peggy. The Rev Clive Shaw was also there to greet the SoP team. I think it is so good that, through NN, the church will have its moment on Songs of Praise.

The camera crew got a number of shots inside the church, plus Nicholson's gravestone outside. They then recorded me (voice only) reading four poems: Windscale, Clouded Hills, Nobbut God and Sea to the West. It'll be interesting to see which (if any!) make it through the edit.

Next stop was No 14 where Pam did a piece-to-camera outside and lunch was taken, paid for by the BBC (that's six customers added to the cafe's takings thanks to NN). At that point Garry declared himself satisfied with the interviews etc, and (not for the only time) expressed regret that he wouldn't have more time in the final programme for the NN feature.

Our committee member Sue Dawson then took over as guide, taking the crew to various locations to pick up general views, including the Whicham Valley, and Silecroft.

This was a great experience and a terrific effort by our committee in terms of laising with the BBC team, and now we can look forward to the programme on May 14th.